View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Unisa Institutional Repository FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF LIMBA TRADITIONAL RELIGION AND ITS EFFECTS ON LIMBA CHRISTIANITY AND VICE VERSA IN SIERRA LEONE IN THE PAST THREE DECADES by PRINCE SORIE CONTEH Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF THEOLOGY In the subject SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: PROF TS MALULEKE JUNE 2004 i TABLE OF CONTENTS i SIGNED DECLARATION vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS viii SUMMARY ix KEY WORDS AND PHRASES xi CHAPTER ONE Introduction 1 1.1 Objectives of this Study 2 1.2 Structure 3 1.3 The arrival of Christianity in Limba Country and it effects 3 1.4 The situation of the NPLC 7 1.5 Present academic context 12 1.6 The origin of this study 15 1.7 Fieldwork 17 1.7.1 Interviews and Consultant Data 17 1.7.2 Interview Protocol 18 1.7.3 Research questions and Rationale 19 1.7.4 Language 22 1.7.5 Editing the Data 22 1.8 Outline 22 1.9 Conclusion 23 CHAPTER TWO Socio-History of the Limba 25 2.1 Introduction 25 2.2 Sierra Leone and the Limba 26 2.3 Origin 28 2.4 Traditional Homeland and Outside Settlements 29 2.5 Language and Nomenclature 31 2.6 Political and Administrative Structures 32 ii 2.7 Economy 38 2.7.1 Agriculture 38 2.7.2 Micro Business 41 2.8 Other Socio-cultural Characteristics 42 2.8.1 Household and gender Roles 42 2.8.2 The Compound and Beyond 44 2.8.3 Respect 45 2.8.4 Social Courtesies 46 2.9 Conclusion 47 CHAPTER THREE Definition and Components of Limba Religion 49 3.1 Introduction 49 3.2 What is Religion? 52 3.3 What is African Traditional Religion? 53 3.4 What is Limba Religion? 57 3.5 Components of Limba Religion 60 3.6 Conclusion 64 CHAPTER FOUR Supreme Being 66 4.1 Introduction 66 4.2 Names of God 67 4.2.1 Kanu Masala 69 4.2.2 Kanu Kabekede/Wobekede/Kathinthi 74 4.2.3 Kanu Wopothi 77 4.2.4 Kanu Masaraka 78 4.3 Attributes of Kanu 80 4.3.1 Omnipotence 80 4.3.2 Omnipresence 82 4.3.3 Omniscience 83 4.4 Activities of Kanu 85 iii 4.4.1 Kanu the Creator 85 4.4.2 Kanu the Chief and Judge 87 4.4.3 Kanu the Teacher and Adviser 88 4.5 Anthropomorphic attributes of Kanu 89 4.6 Worshipping Kanu 90 4.6.1 Levels of Worship 95 4.6.2 Acts of Worship 97 4.6.2.1 Chiefdom Level 97 4.6.2.2 Personal Level 105 4.7 Conclusion 108 CHAPTER FIVE Angels 110 5.1 Introduction 110 5.2 Nature of Angels 112 5.3 Role of Angels 114 5.4 Conclusion 116 CHAPTER SIX Ancestral Spirits/Ancestors 118 6.1 Introduction 118 6.2 The Dead, Ancestral Spirits or Ancestors? 120 6.3 How Does One Become an Ancestor? 123 6.4 The Role of the Ancestors 129 6.5 Ancestor Worship or Ancestor Veneration? 131 6.6 Ancestral Rites 135 6.6.1 Household 136 6.6.2 Private 139 6.7 Conclusion 141 iv CHAPTER SEVEN Non-Ancestral Spirits 144 7.1 Introduction 144 7.2 Categories and Characteristics of spirits 145 7.2.1 Nature Spirits 145 7.2.2 Human Spirits 151 7.2.2.1 Witchcraft 151 7.2.2.2 Ghosts 160 7.3 Offering to Nature Spirits 161 7.3.1 Forest Spirits 162 7.3.2 Water Spirits 163 7.4 Conclusion 166 CHAPTER EIGHT Humankind 169 8.1 Introduction 169 8.2 Origin and Nature of Humankind 170 8.3 Relationship with God 171 8.4 Relationship with other creatures 172 8.5 Life Cycle 176 8.5.1 Pregnancy and child birth 177 8.5.2 Naming 182 8.5.3 Nursing 187 8.5.4 Secret Societies 188 8.5.4.1 Gbangban 190 8.5.4.2 Bondo 192 8.5.5 Engagement and Marriage 194 8.5.6 Farming 201 8.5.7 Employment 204 8.5.8 Politics 205 8.5.9 Judiciary process 214 8.5.10 Health 216 v 8.5.11 Death and Burial 219 8.5.12 The Next World 224 8.6 Conclusion 225 CHAPTER NINE Sin and Salvation 229 9.1 Introduction 229 9.2 Sin and its categories 230 9.3 The Consequences of and Remedies of Sins 232 9.4 Salvation 238 9.5 Conclusion 240 CHAPTER TEN Sacred Specialists 242 10.1 Introduction 242 10.2 Priests 243 10.3 Diviners 245 10.4 Herbalists 248 10.5 Conclusion 249 CHAPTER ELEVEN Conclusions 252 11.1 General 252 11.2 Recapitulation 254 11.3 Causes and Effects 264 11.3.1 Reasons for Limba Christians dual religiosity and tenacity 264 11.3.2 The effects of Limba religion on the NPLC 271 11.3.3 The effects of Christianity on Limba religion 272 11.4 Recommendations 273 11.5 Conclusion 275 vi APPENDICES A: National Pentecostal Limba Church: Statement of Faith 277 B: Interviewees and Consultants Profiles 281 C: A map of Sierra Leone in its settings in West Africa 285 D: A Map of Limba current homeland 286 LIST OF REFERENCES CITED 287 vii Student number: 3318-245-0 I declare that Fundamental Concepts of Limba Traditional Religion and its Effects on Limba Christianity and Vice Versa in Sierra Leone in the Past Three Decades is my own work and that all the sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. ……………………………………… ……………………………… SIGNATURE DATE (Rev. PS Conteh) viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people whose help and support were vital in the writing of this thesis. I would like to recognise them and I hope I do not forget anyone. My thanks go to the members of the United Church of Canada Tamarack Presbytery and the Saskatchewan United Church Women for their financial support which made my fieldwork to Sierra Leone possible. Thanks to the Reverend Shelly Manley- Tannis (my co-pastor), “Aunty” Marilyn Ens, the boards and members of Bridging Waters Pastoral Charges for their financial support toward my fieldwork and local research, and for allowing me to do my studies while ministering with them. Thanks to Professors Ruth Finnegan and Simeon Ottenberg for offering advice and materials on Limba research. Thanks to all the incredible people I interviewed that are listed on Appendix B. Thank you to “Aunties” Esther Epp and Joan Jamieson for their personal attention and encouragement. Thanks to the Reverend Heather Anderson, “Aunty” Diane Berg, Mrs. Peggy Conteh Wallace, my wife, Miss Allison Epp and Mr. Richard Manley-Tannis for their interest and morale support. Last but not least, my thanks go to my thesis promoter Professor Tinyiko Meluleke for his academic guidance and for inspiring me to work hard. ix SUMMARY This study is the product, chiefly, of fieldwork, undertaken in Sierra Leone, which sought to interview and experience contemporary Limba religio-cultural practices. Using a systematic approach, the goal was to provide a broader understanding of Limba religion, as well as to discover the effect of Limba religiosity, and the tenacity with which the Limba hold to their culture and religion, on the National Pentecostal Limba Church (NPLC) over the past three decades. The study begins with an introduction, which outlines its objectives and structure, the research methods, and its general outline. This is followed by a basic introduction to the socio- history of the Limba people, their origin, environment, language, politics, economy and other socio-cultural characteristics, in order to provide an understanding of the background on which their religion is formed. The heart of the study is a detailed examination of Limba religious beliefs and their intersection with Christianity. It includes a definition of Limba religion and its components. This seeks to identify the current state of Limba religion amidst the changes it has experienced and continues to experience as a result of internal and external influences, and to provide a template for this study, an analysis of the Limba belief in a supreme creator God whom they call Kanu Masala, his epithets, attributes and activities, Limba worship and worship methods, the Limba understanding of the spirit world, humankind, sin and salvation, and the roles of sacred specialists. The study concludes with an examination of the causes of the x tenacious loyalty with which some Limba Christians hold to their traditional religious beliefs and practices, their reluctance to part with them, and the effects of their dual religiosity on the NPLC, as well as the church’s response, and the resulting reciprocal effects over the past three decades in Sierra Leone. This study fills a gap in the extant literature about the ethno- theological landscape of Sierra Leone, and provides a detailed study on the intersection of African Traditional Religion and Christianity. xi KEY WORDS AND PHRASES Abortion; African Traditional Religion; Ancestral spirits; Angels; Autochthonous; Chief; Chiefdom; Christianity; Christian Limba; Culture; Dialects; Diviners; Dual religionist; Ecology; Forgiveness; Freetown; God Above; God Below; Herbalists; Limba Christian; Kanu; Libation; Limba; Limba Religion; National Pentecostal Limba Church; Non-ancestral spirits; Offences; Paramount Chief; Prayers; Priests; Provinces; Sacred Specialists; Sacrifice; Salvation; Supreme Being; Syncretism; Sin; Sierra Leone; Spirits; Tenacious; Western Area; Witchcraft 1 CHAPTER ONE Introduction Like many African Christians,1 most Limba converts to Christianity are tenaciously loyal to the heritage of their traditional religious beliefs and are very reluctant to give them up for their new found religion.2 Although there are Limba religio-cultural elements and values which find parallels in the Bible3 and which have been adopted by the Limba Church, the church has maintained a hostile attitude toward traditional Limba practices.